Vanilla Almond Granola with Chia seeds and Flax

All mixed together and ready to bake!

In the process of starting our Whole Food, Plant Based diet, I zeroed in on everything and cereal was one of the last things I changed because I figured it would be a pain and I didn't eat it much anyway, just Nate (some days) and the kids.  Umm...hello they are pretty important people too and they don't need to be eating anything with a mile long list of ingredients either.  Anyway this is fabulous and we all eat it nearly everyday!  We love to add blueberries and banana to it too and serve with almond milk.

This is a double batch

Ingredients:
6 cups rolled oats
1 cup almond meal
1/3 cup chia seeds and flax seed meal (I do about half and half)
1 cup sliced or chopped almonds
1 tsp salt
4 tsp vanilla
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 cup pure maple syrup

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients. Mix it all together. Line 2 baking sheets with wax paper. Spread the mixture on the wax paper and bake 20 minutes.  Stir, mix, shake around and bake for another 15-25 minutes. Allow to cool (this is the tricky part because while it is sitting out to cool all the hands start grabbing at it!).  We like it pretty crispy, so typically cook it the 25 minutes, especially if layered thick.

This makes about 10 cups of cereal and I set the serving size at 1/2 cup.

I will typically have 1/2 cup granola, 1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries, 1/3 banana, 1/2 cup almond milk.  Now that is a powerhouse breakfast! If you are on a low-cal diet, you really have to watch it with this one. They are good calories but still calories.  I like a solid breakfast to start my day!

So for 1/2 cup of granola, here are the numbers:
252 Calories
34g Carbs
9g Fat
8g Protein
134mg Sodium
14g Sugar